The roof's leaking at Swift Current's Aquatic Centre has gotten to the point where city council approved $70,000 from the 2019 Capital budget for the roof's repair.

Council had already approved $75,000 in the 2018 Capital budget for roof repairs, but that would have been for fixing sections of the roof over a four-year period. Instead the City is going ahead with a complete repair of the main roof's liner.

In 2015 an engineering firm gave the roof a one-to-four-year life span, and a report prepared by Andy Toth, manager of parks and open spaces for the City, said the leaking has been getting worse.

"It's not hazardous, but it is causing all kinds of problems," Toth said following last night's council meeting. "Just in terms of public health, with leaky roofs and contaminated water and all that. It just seems to be leaking all over the facility, inside the pools, tot pools, and hot tubs and all that."

Adding to the urgency to get the job done in the near future is that Swift Current will be hosting the Western Canada Summer Games in a year's time.

The repair will start as soon as school is out, but Toth said they don't have a timeline for its completion yet.

"I think it's better to take care of the situation right now, rather than leave it for next summer in the event that something could go wrong, [with] weather conditions or whatever," Toth said. "I think it's to err on the side of caution right now and deal with it this year."

ProFoam Insulators Ltd. out of Swift Current estimated the cost to be $120,000, with a seven-year guarantee. But the City is going to have to pay to dispose of the existing roof liner, and that along with a contingency for the total cost increasing brings the total to $145,000.

The extra $70,000 is being funded through reserves, which will then be refunded in the 2019 budget.

The Aquatic Centre closes during the summer, with the outdoor Fairview Pool opening.

A complete reconstruction of the roof's structure was estimated at a $636,325 cost. The City is going with a two-inch foam insulation with a top liner that has had "expected results," as per Toth's report, since being used over five years ago at the RC Dahl roof, and eight years ago at the Innovation Credit Union iPlex.